The oily substance that has been flowing from the overturned barge off Tobago, has now stopped.

The confirmation came via an underwater survey conducted by T&T Salvage/QT Environmental.

That team said the compartments where the leak emanated from are now filled with seawater above the leak point, blocking the additional flow of any more hydrocarbons.

While there is more product on board, the team is developing a plan to remove it.

Efforts are continuing to recover the oil that has already been spilled, with additional equipment being used.

“With respect to the hydrocarbon recovery effort, two additional NOFI Current Busters and a Rapid Deployment Skimming System (RDSS) were deployed. The RDSS recovers concentrated hydrocarbons from the fluid collected using the NOFI Current Buster. This approach improves the efficiency of hydrocarbon recovery since it eliminates excessive waste handling due to seawater.

Regular overflights of the response are being conducted in partnership with the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard to provide insights to the on-water recovery of oil.”